Jaw-dropping Jewels about Jesus
Rarely does Jesus, God the Son, do exactly what we expect of Him. It seems odd that He so frequently surprises us, given that He never changes. Hebrews 13:8 makes this absolute statement: “Jesus the same yesterday, and today, and forever.” Still, though He is blessedly consistent in His goodness, Jesus does unforeseen things. Even when He does what is expected, He does not always do it in the way that we anticipate. Let us join with Jesus on a jaw-dropping journey. (I will be using this opening paragraph for each of the brief messages in this series. The following material will change daily.)
The rich young ruler’s response to Jesus’ command of Mark 10:21 is a sobering warning to all people: “And he was sad at that saying, and went away grieved for he had great possessions” (verse 22). Most of us reading this verse are not wealthy people (by American standards, that is). Are we genuinely thankful, deeply grateful, that we are not rich? When we read this entire passage, we should be. Other references are equally powerful. Proverbs 30:7-9 is quite unique: “Two things have I required of Thee; deny me them not before I die; remove me from vanity and lies: give me neither poverty nor riches; feed me with food convenient for me: lest I be full, and deny Thee, and say, ‘Who is the LORD?’ or lest I be poor, and steal, and take the name of my God in vain.” The everpresent danger of riches is also the stern theme of I Timothy 6:10: “For the love of money is [a] root of all [kinds of] evil: which while some coveted after, they have erred from the faith, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows.” In simple words, money can ensnare a soul. Let us beware.